Australian LGBTI awards

On Thursday 15th June 2017 we were invited to the launch of the 2nd annual Australian LGBTI awards. Bloomberg, one of the awards top sponsors, did the honours of hosting the event on their sky terrace on the 27th floor of their offices at one Bligh Street.

The director of the Australian LGBTI Awards, Silke Bader, explains why the awards are so important by saying “as a whole the LGBTI community spend a lot of time fighting for equality, it’s nice to be able to take some time out to come together to celebrate one another, and this is what the Australian LGBTI Awards is all about.”

James Breko Brechney was the emcee for the event and did a great job of keeping the audience entertained and the energy up for the duration. Peter FitzSimons hosted the lively panel discussion that took place with three winners from the 2017 awards: Michelle Heyman (sports personality), Sharon Carroll (inspirational role model 2017) and Julie McCrossin (broadcaster and presenter of the year).

Michelle Heyman was the only openly gay athlete to represent Australia at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She is a role model to many members of the LGBTI community for her outlook and positivity. As part of the panel discussion regarding why the awards are important she commented “everyone needs to be who they are and love themselves, and I get to do that everyday and it’s just nice to be able to spread that to the world.”

There are a total of 18 categories in the Australian LGBTI Awards 2018. This year the awards have added several new categories. The awards are split into two sections: Public and corporate. The public awards will be decided by public voting only and voting will close on 31 December 2017. The corporate awards will be nominated online by the public and then scored by the Australian LGBTI Awards judging panel to determine a winner.